By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund Not everyone is a planner—I completely understand that. But . . . there’s something to be said about bein...
Princeton University Ballet Logo designed by Jody Worthington. Connect with them on Dribbble; the global community for designers and creative professionals.
My kids and I recently finished reading The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood. At first my kids weren’t really into the Elizabetha...
Knowledge is power and once you discover what's involved and how easy & fun it is to REinvent with your knitwear you'll be cutting them up quick as blink! I should point out this isn't going to be a demonstration where I show you step-by-step how to Reinvent a specific garment - instead this exercise will be me sharing the tools, tips & techniques I've found helpful during my 20yrs of successful Knitwear REinventing. :: Tools :: :: Long pins with lumps on the end. Due to the nature of a knit and the fact you will be required to try the garment on occasionally throughout the REinventing process a normal run-of-the-mill dressmaking pin is useless, they slide straight out causing great frustration & the use of swear words, whereas a long pin (Quilting Pins) with a stopper on the end is better designed to hold knitted edges together until you are ready to stitch. :: Unpicker, Quilting Pins & sharp Dressmaking Scissors are fundamental - I did contemplate including an Overlocker in this list because they are effective however they're not necessary. A Walking Foot is also helpful when stitching stretchy thicknesses however again not necessary. :: Tips :: :: When choosing the knitwear you want to use in your REinvention try to keep like-with-like ie. similar weights [not necessarily the same fibre content]. :: Sometimes you can cut straight through the garment and other times it is best to unpick. :: Cut the garment when you need to open it up and aren't going to gain anything by unpicking it ie. retaining seam allowance is sometimes advantageous if the garment is too small - every little bit counts. If you do need to cut please cut carefully, don't hack into the garment .... if you respect the garment it will reciprocate. :: As soon as you stitch a row of stitching the fabric will do whatever it wants up to that row of stitching (this goes for woven fabrics also), in the case of knits, once cut, the edges will either roll or fluff up however they will never unravel - you would have to find the end of a thread & start pulling it for that to happen however if you're really concerned do 2 rows of stitching. :: I chose to Overlock all the raw edges on this REinvention because the nature of the knit ie. fair aisle, meant they were very stable. For lightweight knits I don't use an overlocker because it stretches the edges too much. As with all my overlocked edges I leave a 'tail' which is stitched back on itself, stopping the Overlocking from coming undone, creating a tidy finish. :: I treat Knitwear as another form of fabric and as with all fabrics they come in different weights & thicknesses which require different handling. It is not always neccessary to create a seam with knitwear - to avoid bulk join two pieces by stitching them flat, one on top of the other. :: Techniques :: :: AVOID using a stretch stitch or a zig zag stitch during a knitwear REinvention - you want to avoid too much handling of Knitwear as it will stretch out of shape very quickly if over handled - a normal straight stitch is all you need. Some things that will make life easier; Ball Point Needle Straight Stitch on a longer length than you would normally use on woven fabrics. Adjust your tension to accommodate the fabric - test before launching yourself into the actual garment. :: If attaching a woven fabric to a knit edge eg. bias binding or ribbon, cut the fabric the length desired [remembering turnover top & bottom], then stitch the woven fabric to the knit, this is because the woven fabric is more stable and will allow you to ease in any fullness avoiding puckering & stretching of the knit. If you can sew a straight line you can REinvent. The hardest part for some is cutting into an existing garment for the first time.... just remember you can't make a mistake when REinventing if you take your time and sometimes what you thought it was going to be isn't, listen to what the garment/fabric is telling you, if it's looking like it wont work, don't beat yourself up, walk away [have a cuppa, go for a walk, have a holiday] you'll be surprised at what is reveled upon your return :) Relax, be kind to yourself and have fun! Click here for the printable version.
A few weeks ago I posted my book review for Jody Hedlund’s new YA romance novel An Uncertain Choice. Set during medieval times, readers enjoy an array of characters from a nobel lady to fine Sir Knights, castles and horses, jousting tournaments, adventure, and of course a bit of romance. When I’m enjoying a book,...Read More »
By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund Whenever I'm in the planning stages for a new novel, one of the things I try to do is get a clear picture...
By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund Some writers are plotters. They thrive on planning out their books in great detail, making outline...
Also known as "tall girl lifting short girl."
We've rounded up 10 projects from place settings to decor that you can do yourself to add a personal touch to your party!
Perfect for chilly school days
By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund I know I talk about books a lot here on my blog–particularly books I've just read. But I can't help it....
Explore Re-inventing Fashion's 2939 photos on Flickr!
By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund Not everyone is a planner—I completely understand that. But . . . there’s something to be said about bein...
Indulging in a plate of delectable and delicious sautéed shrimp is an experience that tantalizes the senses and transports you to the beach. This recipe is easy to prepare, highly adaptable, and bursting with an array of flavors.
By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund For my traditionally published books, I'm required to send a synopsis to my publisher before I start a ne...
By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund One surefire way writers can garner negative reviews is by making one or more of their main characters un...
High-quality minimal resume templates that may help you land your dream job or simply create a better looking business. Professionally designed, we take a unique approach to boring business documents, creating modern, sophisticated and easy to use templates just for you! In every download pack have fully editable PSD or Doc files will allow access to
Idag bjuder jag er på lite färg och sommarbilder från den åländska skärgården. Det kan behövas en grå dag som idag. Jag själv förbereder mig för kvällen inredningskurs, där stora delar går åt till just färglära -färgens uppbyggnad, kontrastera, harmonisera, färgsättning i fallande skala, monokrom färgsättning, blankt eller matt, ja det finns oändligt mycket kul man kan diskutera när det gäller färg. färgbilder via
From lanterns and sun catchers to animals and even superhero cuffs, kids will love these fun ideas for paper crafts!
Are you doing a super hero theme this year? Ever since The Avengers came out I've seen a huge spike in all things super hero. I have to admit that I kind of jumped on the bandwagon as well. I didn't read comic books as a kid, but my husband got me hooked on them. Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth make it even easier to get into them, right? :) This past year I had a super hero theme. I thought it would be a huge hit with the boys but I ended up with a class that had way more girls. Either way, I think everyone enjoyed it. I'm planning on doing it again this year and I hope to make it a little better. I wanted to share two of the templates that my husband drew for me last year and hopefully you can use them too. Even if you're not doing a super hero theme, you could use them along with a writing prompt or whatever else your creative minds think of. I used the shield to decorate my student's lockers. The super hero template was used for our classroom reading tracker. I took their picture on the first day of school and placed their head on the body for them to decorate. As they grew in reading, their super student moved up the building. I'm thinking I could add a little title to this tracker with Reaching New Heights or Soaring to New Heights. You can see a picture of their completed super hero here.They loved seeing their super hero go up and I'm excited to use this again! Click here to go to my TPT store to download the free templates. Hope you can use them!
